Okay. Hanna and I are sick.
Lucy is my rescue who bites under certain circumstances but we have made huge progress.

Dad came down to make sure we were okay and update us on Austin (grandson is not sick anymore).

I was getting ready to shuffle the dogs outside when he came down. I let him in. He sat down. Dogs did great (Hambone knows him well, but won't let him touch him in my house).

He came close to give me money and Lucy growled. He didn't back off she growled agian. Then she charged. I corrected, but forgot higher drive higher correction. Corrected again, she sat beside me, but barked vehemently at him. He left.

I cannot have my Lucy attack people whom I invite in my house. (I would let her attack people uninvited except she is all of 25 pounds.) <---Bad joke, sorry.

This is a new behavior of hers. I think its because I am weak. Or it could be she is territorial. Or she doesn't like adult men. Who knows?

Okay. Plan.
1). No one comes into the house until I am 100 %.

2). Sometime later after more work with Miss Lucy my dad will come down and I will let him in.

3). Lucy will be made to go to her place and stay there.

4). I will walk him to the door after 5 minutes and let him out.

Do I correct her if she growls or mumbles while she is in place?

A better way to do this?

I want to set her up to win knowing I can take care of this without her help and she can just relax.

Sorry to hear this Jo.

I will let more experienced people comment on your plan, but just a note - when Luc was still fairly new with me, we were backpacking in a fairly remote area and I tore 2 ligaments in my ankle. Weirdly, we actually saw some sea kayakers that night and had dinner with them, and he was not his normal self by a long shot. I got out myself, and on the way home stopped at an outfitter's I know and was camped there - Luc was embarrassing! He freaked out whenever anyone approached us! Once I became more mobile, he became calmer. He's not the most confident dog to begin with (and I don't think Lucy is either, if I recall).

Anyways, I think it's a very good idea to work on this when you're doing better.

Hi Jo,

Far more knowledgeable people can give more help, but I'll just quickly say, from my experience with my dog (who has been known to be possessive/protective of me with guests in our home) that the most important thing WE do now to maintain calm is to create space between the dog and the guests from the get go - either Oscar gets put into another room when guests arrive, or he's sent to his "place", which is his bed in a corner of the room.

With real strangers, or people Oscar doesn't know well, Oscar is not allowed to "mingle" around with the people - too many opportunities for him to get stimulated by something, and for us to miss his signals - so he's put firmly on his bed, and he must stay there. It's quite obvious that this gesture gives him some sense of calm, as he settles quite quickly and is ignoring the goings on in no time (if he were up and about he'd be 100% alert and LOOKING for a reason to react to something...).

 Quote: jo harker

3). Lucy will be made to go to her place and stay there.

4). I will walk him to the door after 5 minutes and let him out.

Do I correct her if she growls or mumbles while she is in place?

I think this sounds like a plan - I'd send her to her bed before the guest even comes inside, as soon as the doorbell rings. You might want to have her on a leash or long line during this, so you can stop/correct her if she decides to charge.

If all she does is woof or growl from her bed, I'd tell her to "QUIET", or some other verbal "ENOUGH" - you're not punishing her for growling, you're just telling her she doesn't need to keep it up. If she's quiet, once in a while you could also tell her she's being GOOD, in a nice calm voice, from across the room - just to reinforce the calm behavior.

 Quote: jo harker

I want to set her up to win knowing I can take care of this without her help and she can just relax.

You have a very good attitude here, and you can handle this. If Lucy knows how to go to her place and stay when you tell her to stay, she should be much more relaxed after simply being sent there by you - she didn't know what to do when your dad visited, so she took control when she got worried... if she's been given a command and is away from the people action, that will naturally translate into "I don't need to worry, Jo will take care of this."

~Natalya

*And I second Jennifer's comment about waiting until you are well before beginning to work on this...

This might be outdated info but, I was taught to "place" the dog then walk to the visitor and shake hands to show the dog that I was allowing this new presence.

I will tell you what I do, maybe someone else has a better idea for me also.

I have a 5 1/2 month old GSD. I take her out with me every where and she is fine with people she does not know unless they try to approach her (Oh, what a cute puppy), then she will bark and growl at them. I have to tell the person she is not friendly to strangers so they will stay back. I don't know if I should let her slide on growling at people coming at her to see or pet her, but I don't get upset and basically ask them to step back. Any Opinions?

With the people she knows, like all my family, she is perfectly fine with them coming into the house. No barking and happy to see them. These are people she has meet at their own homes first.

If a stranger comes into the house, friend or delievery guy, I put her away because I know she is going to bark at them every time. I don't think she would attack them, but I would not put her or anyone in a situation like that to find out.

If it is a friend she doesn't know, I put her outside and let her see us talking while she is barking through my glass patio doors and I totally ignore her. I do not let the person look at her or pay any attention to her. After about 10 minutes she get's everything is ok and stops barking, but I still do not let her in. I don't want to use my friends or guest for training purposes.

Any expert trainers have an opinion on this?

 Quote: Jo Harker

Okay. Hanna and I are sick.
Lucy is my rescue who bites under certain circumstances but we have made huge progress.

Dad came down to make sure we were okay and update us on Austin (grandson is not sick anymore).

I was getting ready to shuffle the dogs outside when he came down. I let him in. He sat down. Dogs did great (Hambone knows him well, but won't let him touch him in my house).

He came close to give me money and Lucy growled. He didn't back off she growled agian. Then she charged. I corrected, but forgot higher drive higher correction. Corrected again, she sat beside me, but barked vehemently at him. He left.

I cannot have my Lucy attack people whom I invite in my house. (I would let her attack people uninvited except she is all of 25 pounds.) <---Bad joke, sorry.

This is a new behavior of hers. I think its because I am weak. Or it could be she is territorial. Or she doesn't like adult men. Who knows?

Okay. Plan.
1). No one comes into the house until I am 100 %.

2). Sometime later after more work with Miss Lucy my dad will come down and I will let him in.

3). Lucy will be made to go to her place and stay there.

4). I will walk him to the door after 5 minutes and let him out.

Do I correct her if she growls or mumbles while she is in place?

A better way to do this?

I want to set her up to win knowing I can take care of this without her help and she can just relax.

Hey Jo,
well this is the joy of owning a rescue dog. You have no idea what her life was like before this, so stuff is definately still going to come up now that she feels more comfortable around you and is starting to gain her confidence back.

I highly doubt it has anything to do with you being weak. Did you mean weak as in a pack leader, or weak in a physical sense?

Is this the first time your father has met Lucy? or have they met before under different circumstances and in a different environment?

Was she tethered to you?

Can you try a meeting outside between the two of them?

Is her place command 100%? If not, I would put her in her crate rather than have her loose.

Does lucy react to any other people getting close to you? Hugging you? any reaction?

has she met many stranger's? have you reached that stage of socialization with her yet?

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

I highly doubt it has anything to do with you being weak. Did you mean weak as in a pack leader, or weak in a physical sense?

Weak physically. We are good on pack leader.

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

Is this the first time your father has met Lucy? or have they met before under different circumstances and in a different environment?

See met him outside, but never inside, near me or between her and a door.

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

Was she tethered to you?

Yes.

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

Can you try a meeting outside between the two of them?

I could. But, he will need to understand he can't stare at her. I think that is what set her off...one reason anyway. Let me think more on that.

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

Is her place command 100%?

No.

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

Does lucy react to any other people getting close to you?Hugging you? any reaction?

No, but then few people come over. Lucy doesn't mind Hanna hugging me and everyone else just scratches Lucy's head (if she offers) and then leaves her alone. (No one wants to be bitten by Lucy or by me if they ignore my rules. I am extremely fierce when it comes to my dogs.)

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

has she met many stranger's? have you reached that stage of socialization with her yet?

We've been in public a few times and she reacts well. She isn't unfriendly or skittish, but she is definite about being polite (no biting) and then expecting me to intercede. I do make sure she is protected and doesn't have to make a decision so she can enjoy her outings and she does. She is quite sparkly in public now and it is a joy to see her. I keep it down tempo and easy for her by only having short term outings and no pressure.